A new Pew Research Center study shows that millennial women are entering the workplace at near wage parity , with the narrowest pay gap on record .

Millennial women like me are more likely to have graduated from college than their male counterparts . We have role models like Marissa Mayer and new General Motors CEO Mary Barra . Today , there 's a much more open conversation about sexism and how it manifests than there was 10 years ago . And it 's no coincidence that a recent poll from Ms. magazine found that 73 % of women voters under 30 identify as feminist .

It would seem today 's young women are set for the post-feminist professional paradise dreamed up by our foremothers .

But until women are paid the same as men , we will never be truly equal .

In a capitalist society , money is the key indicator of worth . The wage gap has functioned across history to make women dependent on men as providers . We ca n't save as much for retirement , stash away cash to treat ourselves or even take care of our families in the way we want if we 're starting at a deficit .

This is an issue of financial security for a generation already facing much more instability than our parents or grandparents .

READ : Millennial women are closing pay gap , but pessimistic about workplace equality

The Pew study found that an astounding 75 % of millennial women believe more changes are needed to combat gender inequality in the workplace . It makes sense , then , that these are the same young activists who have been working valiantly for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act and who see working-class heroine Lilly Ledbetter as a more imitable role model than Sheryl Sandberg .

Millennial women can get involved by letting their representatives know they want legislation that addresses wage parity for men and women . Additionally , one of the most powerful things young women can do for their own negotiations is to organize with their peers before and after taking a job , so they can know compare notes and know if they are being underpaid .

Information makes a difference in knowing what to ask for .

The best news to come out of this study is that we strongly and rightly acknowledge that the old boy 's club is still in place . Young women are far more likely than men their age to cite the continued existence of the wage gap and the reality -- supported by a glance at a recent study on the stagnant role of women on corporate boards -- that men have it easier when it comes to getting the top job . They are just as likely as older women to say that society is set still set up to serve men .

That 's notable and promising , since many women my age have been fed the myth that the feminist movement achieved its goals and sexism no longer exists .

But I worry that we , as young women , while understanding sexism to be a systemic problem , still think of it as something we have to fix individually -- and therefore , we do n't want to see ourselves as victims of it .

In the Pew study , I was surprised to see that while women are highly aware of gender discrimination and the different forms it takes , very few reported experiencing it themselves .

READ : The generation we love to dump on

It 's much less scary to imagine sexism as something that happens to other women . Once you 're forced to admit that you 've experienced it , you have to either accept it or do something about it .

Feminism is hearing your pain and your struggle in another woman 's voice and suddenly realizing there 's nothing wrong with you and nothing wrong with her , but something wrong with the world trying to make you think there is .

It 's easy to focus the conversation on specific examples of highly privileged women who 've made it to the upper echelons of power . But feminism is n't about making it possible for a few women to get power . Instead , it 's about changing the system from the ground up so that all women have that opportunity .

In order to do that , women have to be on an equal playing field in terms of pay from the moment they accept their first job .

Some may take from this new study that millennial women , despite the narrowing wage gap , have a bleak view of their future .

As a member of that group , I 'd argue that we have a realistic view .

It 's that understanding -- that the fight is not over and there is still much more work to be done -- that might make us the generation that crafts workplaces and a world where sexism is truly a thing of the past .

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New Pew Research study shows millennial women face narrowest pay gap on record

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Shelby Knox : Until women are paid the same as men , we will never be truly equal

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75 % of millennial women believe more change is needed to combat workplace inequality

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Knox : Millennial women might be the generation to make workplaces equal